Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard will be out for few weeks after sustaining a knee injury. Manager Mikel Arteta said on Friday as the Premier League leaders return from the international break with several key players dealing with injuries and lack of form.
Odegaard, who was sidelined for two weeks last month due to a shoulder issue, is the club’s fourth player currently out of action with a knee injury after Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke.
“He will be sidelined for weeks. No definite date for his return. But he is recovering well. It’s very unlucky what is happening to him,” Arteta told reporters before Saturday’s visit to Fulham.
“I think he will be back in few weeks … but we’ll have to see how he is progressing, how his knee is feeling. It’s too early to get an answer.”
Arteta said Martin Zubimendi and Ben White, who missed training on Thursday, will be available for Saturday’s match, while their Ecuador centre-back Piero Hincapie may return to the matchday squad after missing a month with a groin injury.
Arsenal, who have the best defensive record in the league with three goals conceded in seven matches, have the squad depth to cope with injuries but still need key players like Norway international Odegaard back in action, the coach added.
“He’s very, very important for us and we haven’t had him since the start of the season, like other players … but we need him back as he makes us a better team,” Arteta said of Odegaard, who has suffered injuries during the first half of three straight Premier League matches at home.
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Arteta also emphasised the importance of their Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres, who is the club’s top scorer in the Premier League this season with three goals but has not scored in his last six appearances in all competitions.
“He brings so much to the team. Watching the games back I’m very pleased with what he’s giving to the team,” Arteta said.
“I told him before the first meeting that the number nine I want is not the number nine who doesn’t score for six or eight games and he can handle it. If not, we have to go somewhere else.
“Because the pressure and the expectation is going to be there. So if you put on the number nine shirt for Arsenal, you have to be able to say, six games I don’t score, will I be a different player or act in a different way?”
Arsenal have scored 14 Premier League goals, one fewer than top scorers Manchester City, as Arteta’s men sit on a one-point lead over champions Liverpool at the top of the table.
However, he said it was too early to start thinking about the title race.
“I prefer to win every game. The only thing we can do is perform on Saturday and win the game,” Arteta added.
“That increases the chances of when it really matters, in March and April, that you are in the best possible position.”
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(Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe)
